EGX Holds Press Conference to Allow Beltone to Launch CASE30 Fund

Egypt’s bourse has held on Monday a press conference amid signing an agreement that allows Beltone Financial to launch its exchange traded fund (ETF) that mirrors the performance of CASE30 Index.

Beltone (BTFH.CA) was the first firm to call for the launch of an index fund in Egypt in 2008, before the global financial crisis intervened.

Last March, Egypt’s market watchdog, seeking to attract capital back to the stock market, has released rules to facilitate the creation of index and real estate funds as well as amendments to margin trading rules.

Sherif Samy, Chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority, said the changes would increase liquidity in the market and draw more local and foreign investors.

ETFs, which seek to track the movements of a market index, are less risky than other funds because they invest across the market and are not based on a single fund manager’s view.